Safety closure



E. HENDERSON SAFETY CLOSURE sept. ze, 1967 Filed March 24, 1967 \VII I/IIIIIIIIIIII ATT@Y EYS United States Patent O 3,343,709 SAFETY CLOSUREEdward Henderson, 220 Central Park S., New York, N.Y. 10019 Filed Mar.24, 1967, Ser. No. 625,719 7 Claims. (Cl. 220-41) ABSTRACT F THEDISCLOSURE The present invention relates to safety closures forcontainers for pills, tablets or the like` The medical profession haslong been deeply concerned over the number of accidental deaths ofinfants, especially twoand three-year-olds, from poisoning by ingestionof various kinds of pills, tablets and the like. In many instances, aswith aspirin, the substance is not lethal in usually indicated doses butbecomes so where excessive numbers of pills or tablets are swallowed.

Efforts have been made, with little success, to supply a pill package ordispenser of such construction as to defy the ingenuity of smallchildren bent upon releasing the contents.

Among such devices are those incorporating features such, for example,as shown in the U.S. patents to Waterman 2,722,309 and 2,692,698 and toButner 2,899,047. Also, a large pharmaceutical manufacturing concern hasmarketed certain of its tablets or pill products in a container havingsome features shown in Waterman 2,722,- 309.

As early as 1955 the Committee on Toxicology of the Council onPharmacology and Chemistry of the A.M.A. recommended that Salicylatesshould be packaged to make accidental access more difficult, e.g.,individual wrapping in metal or plastic foil or type of closure thatcannot be removed by a child, preferably a top that automaticallycloses.

In September 1966, Dr. James L. Goddard, Commissioner of the Food andDrug Administration, testifying before the congressional committeerelating to the Child Welfare Act, in reply to the question whether ornot a practical safety closure for drug containers is available, statedWe are not sure there is one, but the purpose of the law is to encouragedevelopment of suitable closures.

My own inspection of pill and tablet dispensers exposed in drug storesreveals that no satisfactory safety closure is there available.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention has been to provide aneffective closure for drug containers which will be appropriate indispensing a wide variety of pills, tablets, etc., and will materiallyreduce the likelihood of accidental discharge of the contents or removalthereof by children.

It is contemplated that this favorable result may be achieved in the useof a package -having a discharge opening normally and automaticallyclosed by two independently retractable spring-pressed or biased gateswhich in operation must be held simultaneously in open position againstthe biasing force. This arrangement calls for great- 3,343,709 PatentedSept. 26, 17967 ICC er ingenuity on the childs part to discover thatboth said gates must be held open at the same time in order to releasethe contents of the container.

A dispenser for tablets, pills or the like including safety closurefeatures according to my invention comprises in general a containerwherein wall portions have a discharge opening, a slot at each endthereof and guide channels including overlapping end portions extendingacross the width of said opening. Two spring-pressed gates areoperatively mounted one in each channel with an outer or operative endportion normally extending across and closing said opening and with saidoperative end portions overlapping to provide in effect a doubleclosure. Each gate has a finger piece or knob extending outwardlythrough one of said slots whereby said gate may be manually retracted toopen position against spring resistance independently of the other; andthe extent of endwise` movement of s-uch gates is conveniently limitedby engagement of their knobs with the opposed end walls of said slots.The arrangement and mounting of the gates are such that said dischargeopening is normally closed against discharge of the tablets, or thelike, by one or both of said gates and is not open for dischargingtablets unless both gates are held simultaneously in retracted or openposition against the spring resistance.

Other objects and distinctive features of my invention will appear fromconsideration of the following descrip-A tion and claims and byreference to the accompanying illustrative drawings wherein FIG. 1 is aside view in perspective of one form of -dispenser embodying theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a view on enlarged scale in section from the line 2-2 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary View in section on the line 4-4 vof FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view partly in vertical section illustrating a modificationwherein the closure is incorporated in a cap or cover for a bottle, jar,can or the like which carries the supply of tablets, pills or the like,to be dispensed.

Referring to the drawings, it appears that my invention may be embodiedin various types of containers or packages. As seen in FIG. 1, thedispenser includes a generally flat box 10 having safety closure meansmore clearly shown in FIG. 2. Thus, an end wall of box 10 is providedwith a discharge opening 11. The opposed sidewalls have the slots 12 and13, respectively. Said end and side walls are conveniently provided bythe cooperating peripheral flanges 14, 15 of shells A and Badvantageously of plastic as polyethylene or the like and which areretained in permanent assembled relation by suitable securing orinterlocking means. Thus, as an example, flange 14 on one of saidshells, as A in FIG. 4, is provided with notches or grooves 16positioned and adapted to be operatively engaged by and interlocked withlatches 17 extending inwardly from the flange o-f theopposed shell B.Where the parts are made of plastic, or other suitable locally flexiblematerial, it is contemplated that they may not only be convenientlyproduced by conventional apparatus and procedures but also may readilybe locked or otherwise secured together permanently in operative boxforming relation with a supply of pills or the like enclosed therein.Thereafter, the contents are accessible only after discharge throughsaid opening 11.

To render removal of the box contents more diicult for small children,opening 11 is controlled by two independently operable gates which arenormally springbiased and thus automatically pressed into and retainedin closing position, i.e. with their outer end portions extending inoverlapping relation across said opening 11.

Accordingly, said opening is advantageously controlled by the slidablegates 18 and 19, conveniently formed from suitable plastic parts orstripsvwhich, in the dimensions employed, are relatively flexible. Asseen in FIGS. 2 and 3, gate 18 rides endwise in a guide channel 20provided in the opposed interengaging or contacting edge surfaces of theanges of parts A and B. An elongated recess 21 houses a spring 22 orother suitable resilient or compressible member, the outer end of whichbears against the inner end of gate 1S and the inner end of which bearsagainst one side of a partition at 23. An actuating lug or knob 24projects from gate 18 through slot 12. The operative closing end portionof outer gate 1S, as seen in closed position, FIG. 2, normally extendsacross and automatically closes opening 11. Similarly, the operativeclosing end portion of inner gate 19 also normally extends across andprovides a second automatic closure for opening 11.

As seen in FIG. 2, abutments 25 and 26 are provided in the box walladjacent the ends of opening 11. It will be seen that the outer end ofthe operative or closing portion of gate 18, when in closing position,is engaged in a recess, as at 20, FIG. 2, in part deiined by a portionof abutment 26.

In mounting and -mode of operation, gate 19 having knob 29 is similar togate 18, being biased into closing position by spring 27 and having itsend engaged in recess 28 when in that position. j

To liberate a pill or the like through opening 11, said gates areretracted to open position by manually actuating knobs 24 and 29 againstresistance of said springs. An adult or discreet user may, if desired orconvenient, move both knobs simultaneously in the direction of thearrows, FIG. 2, to clear the opening 11. However, if an infant haspossession of the dispenser and attempts to release the contents, it iscontemplated that he is unlikely to retract both gates together or .tohold one gate open while he retr-acts the other. Thus, the hereindescribed safety closure fulfills the requirement laid down by ItheA.M.A. that it automatically closes when retracting force on the gatebia-sing springs is released.

In the modification, FIG. 5, a container or package in the form of abottle 30, or the like, is provided with a cover or cap 31 permanentlysecured thereto after it has received the desired supply of pills, etc.Said cover is provided with a discharge opening 32 which is conf trolledby spring biased gates 33, 34 mounted to slide in guide channelscorresponding in function to those provided in the above describedembodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4. Gate 33 has a knob 3S and gate 34 has aknob 36. By manual actuation the user may retract one of said gates at atime, or may retract and hold both thereof out of closing relation toopening 32 against resistance of springs 37 and 38, respectively. Withthis embodiment of the invention, it is likewise contemplated that thenovel control whereby opening 32 is automatically closed and normallyretained in closed condition, will prove elective in reducing the numberof infant deaths from accidental ingestion of drugs commonly dispensedin pill, tablet or capsule form.

I claim:

1. Safety closure for a container for tablets, pills or the like,wherein the container wall has a discharge opening and a slot spacedfrom each end thereof, said closure including two gates o'r controllingsaid discharge opening, each being slidable independently of the othertoward and from operative position across said opening and each having aknob projecting through one of said slots to facilitate manualac-tuation of said gate and to limit the extent of endwise movementthereof in the slot, each of said gates being biased to extend acrossand thus to automatically close said discharge opening and normallyretain the same in closed condition, and gate guiding channels in thecontainer wall having spaced parallel end portions disposed in mutuallyoverlapping relation opposite to and coextensive with said dischargeopening and each of said gates being mounted in one of said channelswhereby said end portion of one or the other of said gates is normallyconditioned to extend Vacross and thus to close said opening whichthereby normally remains closed unless both gates are held in retractedopen position at the same time.

2. Safety closure according to claim 1 and wherein the containerincludes a cap permanently secured in tablet confining relation thereto,wall portions of said cap being provided with said discharge opening andwith said gate guiding channels, said gates being operatively mounted insaid channels.

3. Safety closure according to claim 1 and wherein the gate carryingwall is provided at each end of the discharge opening with a recesswhich forms, in eiect, an extension of one of said guide channels and isarranged and adapted to receive an end of the gate which is mountedinsaid channel, thereby to retain said end against accidental inwardlydirected displacement from closing position.

4. Safety closure according to claim 3 and wherein the container is abox having top, bottom and side Walls, the discharge opening beinglocated in one side wall and the slots in the side walls contiguousthereto, said box having relatively thickened wall portions at each endof said opening, and each of said recesses being located in one of saidthickened wall portions.

5. Safety closure according to claim 1 and wherein said container wallincludes recesses each closed at its inner end and arranged with itsouter end in open communication with the inner end of one of saidchannels, and a resilient gate biasing element mounted in each recessand arranged to operatively engage an inner end of the gate therein andthereby to normally press said gate into closing position` across saiddischarge opening.

6. Safety closure according to claim 1 and wherein the containercomprises cooperating tablet confining parts one of which has aperipheral flange providing a lateral wall for the container, said partsbeing assembled With the flange of said one part secured permanently inabutting relation to opposed portions of the other part.

7. Safety closure for a container for tablets, pills or .the like,wherein the container wall has a discharge opening and a slot spacedfrom each end thereof, said closure including two gates for controllingsaid discharge opening, each being slidable independently of theothertowardpand from operative position across said opening and eachhaving a knob projecting through one of said slots torfacilitate manualactuation of said gate and to limit the extent of endwise movementthereof in the slot, each of said gates being biased to extend acrossand thus to automatically close said discharge opening and normallyretain the same in closed condition, and gate guiding channels in thecontainer wall having spaced parallel end portions disposed in mutuallyoverlapping relation opposite to and coextensive with said dischargeopening and each of said gates being mounted in one of said channelswhereby said end portion of one or the other of said gates is normallyconditioned to extend across and thus to close said opening whichthereby normally remains closed unless both gates are held in retractedopen position at the same time against the spring resistance and whenpressure on one or both knobs is released, the gate or gates closeautomatically.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,606,652k 8/ 1952 Jaquette etal. 220--41 2,722,309 ll/l955 Waterman 206-42 2,810,394 10/1957 Ferguson251-212 3,240,373 v3/1966 Dulle 215-9 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., PrimaryExaminer.

1. SAFETY CLOSURE FOR CONTAINER FOR TABLETS, PILLS OR THE LIKE, WHEREINTHE CONTAINER WALL HAS A DISCHARGE OPENING AND A SLOT SPACED FROM EACHEND THEREOF, SAID CLOSURE INCLUDING TWO GATES FOR CONTROLLING SAIDDISCHARGE OPENING, EACH BEING SLIDABLE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE OTHER TOWARDAND FROM OPERATIVE POSITION ACROSS SAID OPENING AND EACH HAVING A KNOBPROJECTING THROUGH ONE OF SAID SLOTS TO FACILIATE MANUAL ACTUATION OFSAID GATE AND TO LIMIT THE EXTENT OF ENDWISE MOVEMENT THEREOF IN THESLOT, EACH OF SAID GATES BEING BIASED TO EXTEND ACROSS AND THUS TOAUTOMATICALLY CLOSE SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND NORMALLY RETAIN THE SAMEIN CLOSED CONDITION, AND GATE GUIDING CHANNELS IN THE CONTAINER WALLHAVING SPACED PARALLEL END PORTIONS DISPOSED IN MUTUALLY OVERLAPPINGRELATION OPPOSITE TO AND COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING ANDEACH OF SAID GATES BEING MOUNTED IN ONE OF SAID CHANNELS WHEREBY SAIDEND PORTION OF ONE OR THE OTHER OF SAID GATES IS NORMALLY CONDITIONED TOEXTEND